Public school size and Hispanic student achievement in Texas: a 5-year analysis

In this study, the researchers examined 5 years of Texas statewide data concerning elementary school size and Hispanic student performance on three state-mandated assessments in reading, mathematics, and writing. For each year of data analyzed here, student data from more than 1,200 elementary schools. After collapsing elementary schools into three sizes (i.e., very small <400 students; small 400–799 students; and large 800–1,199 students), multivariate statistical procedures revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in Hispanic student performance in reading, mathematics, and writing across all 5 years of data analyzed. In almost every analysis, Hispanic students in large elementary schools outperformed Hispanic students in very small elementary schools in reading, mathematics, and in writing. As such, our findings are in disagreement with other studies. Implications are discussed.     

Vicarious learning from dialogue and discourse

This study examined learning in the domain of sentence parsing and syntax treediagram construction. The aim of the study was to assess whether subjects could learn vicariously from recordings of interactions between a previous student and a tutor.Four intervention conditions and a control condition were compared. Subjects in a dialogue group (DL) read printed tutorial notes and subsequently vicariously viewed dynamic (animated) recordings of tree diagrams being constructed by a previous student in the presence of a tutor.The discourse (DI) condition was similar except that subjects viewed recordings of tree diagrams being constructed by a tutor who concurrently verbalised instructional discourse.In a third condition (DO), subjects viewed tree-diagram construction animation clips which were not annotated with either dialogue or discourse. In a linear text (LT) condition, subjects were given only printed tutorial notes. A control (CO) condition involved pre and post testing without any intervention.Results indicated that the dialogue condition was as effective as the discourse condition. This provides support for contention that re-usable dialogue is a useful resource for the vicarious learner. Another finding was that un-annotated animated diagrams were surprisingly effective. Several reasons for their effectiveness are suggested from the literature on instructional animations.     

Year 5 pupils reading an "Interactive Storybook" on CD-ROM: losing the plot?

The use of "interactive storybooks" in the primary classroom may facilitate small group and individual reading with minimal teacher intervention. This small-scale study examines whether small groups of Year 5 pupils, without teacher supervision, progress linearly through an "interactive storybook" and whether such diversions as cued animations affect pupil comprehension. The study finds that more intensive choice of diversions affects some pupils' comprehension.     

Teaching effectiveness: Comparisons between traditional and nontraditional college students

This article compares traditional college students' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors with nontraditional students' perceptions. A 15-item questionnaire was completed by undergraduates at a small Southeastern university. Nontraditional students viewed personality and interaction behaviors as more indicative of effective teaching, whereas traditional students focused on behaviors that potentially would enhance grades. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of techniques and approaches that facilitate the needs of both types of students.His major areas of interest include testing and counseling. Nina Mattie, M.A. is a recent graduate of the University of West Florida in the area of school psychology. Stephen J. Vodanovich, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of West Florida. His major areas of interest are social psychology and industrial/organizational psychology. Chris Piotrowski, M.A. is a consultant in forensic psychology. His major areas of interest are personality assessment and online database searching.     

Science and institutional research: The links

Discussions of the functions of institutional research are common. However, discussions concerning the structures associated with disciplined inquiry, theresearch part of institutional research, have been rare. This paper compares the process and structure of institutional research with three ways in which science is conceptualized. These comparisons result in the recognition that although institutional research has much in common with science, it is distinct from science. This paper begins the process of identifying the structures and assumptions that form the basis of institutional research.Presented at the Thirty-First Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Francisco, May 26–29, 1991     

The case for democratic governance in Canada's community colleges

Although the tradition of bicameral governance is well established in Canada's universities, in no province do community colleges operate under a similar principle. In fact, there is no statutory role for college faculty in governance, either through a senate or a senate-like body. This article argues the case for greater democracy in the governance of colleges and, in doing so, analyzes the role of college governance. The conclusion reached is that, while more democratic and participatory governance may be argued on conceptual grounds, it would also improve morale, trust, and communication within the college sector.     

Development of a competency mapping tool for undergraduate professional degree programmes,using mechanical engineering as a case study

Mapping the curriculum of a professional degree to the associated competency standard ensures graduates have the competence to perform as professionals. Existing approaches to competence mapping vary greatly in depth, complexity, and effectiveness, and a standardised approach remains elusive. This paper describes a new mapping software tool that streamlines and standardises the competency mapping process. The available analytics facilitate ongoing programme review, management, and accreditation. The complete mapping and analysis of an Australian mechanical engineering degree programme is described as a case study. Each subject is mapped by evaluating the amount and depth of competence development present. Combining subject results then enables highly detailed programme level analysis. The mapping process is designed to be administratively light, with aspects of professional development embedded in the software. The effective competence mapping described in this paper enables quantification of learning within a professional degree programme, and provides a mechanism for holistic programme improvement.     

What Can Be Learned from Something's Not Being Named

A new word-learning phenomenon is demonstrated and a new word-learning principle is proposed to account for it. In Study 1, 60 3-year-olds were shown a pair of objects and heard a novel label used repeatedly for one, but not for the other. In a forced-choice test of generalization of the label, the latter object was selected less often by the children than one that had not been present during training. This so-called Nominal Passover Effect was the same whether the speaker had completely ignored the comparison object during training or had referred to it with pronouns. The performance of a no-word control group ( N = 24) indicated that the effect was not due to a preference for the less exposed of the two choice objects. The effect is consistent with the Exhaustive Reference Principle, which stipulates that whenever a new generic word is used to name something, expect it to be extended to all entities in a situation that the speaker perceives and believes to be exemplars of the name. In Study 2 ( N = 48), the Nominal Passover Effect was replicated with 3 new sets of objects and with training language that contained only indefinite forms of reference. The passover experience was often sufficient to counteract children's tendency to generalize a novel label on the basis of perceptual similarity. The passover effect was not evident in free-choice name generalization tests in either study.     

‘Education for equality’ and ‘education for life’: examining reading literacy and reading interest in Papua New Guinea primary schools1

Reading literacy and reading interest was examined in four primary schools in Papua New Guinea: in an international, suburban, settlement and village school. In this paper we present a summary of findings located within a local context and examine the implications as viewed through two lenses. From an ‘educational for equality’ perspective, the findings suggest a critical need to re‐evaluate the use of national testing to select children for further education and address the serious shortage of reading books in school libraries. From an ‘education for life’ perspective, the findings indicate a continuing need for community‐based actions together with innovative teacher education programs aimed at developing ways of strengthening the connections between home and school.